Scientists in Germany fired up a doughnut-shaped reactor to heat hydrogen to the point of becoming plasma, which lasted for just a split second. The successful “Wendelstein 7-X” stellarator experiment brings us one step closer to harnessing the power of nuclear fusion, a potential source of clean energy which works much like the center of the Sun.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany were pleased with the favorable outcome of Wednesday’s experiment. A senior scientist associated with the project, Robert Wolf said in a statement, “Everything went well today. With a system as complex as this you have to make sure everything works perfectly and there’s always a risk.” There to initiate the experiment with the institute’s staff was German chancellor Angela Merkel, who holds a doctorate in physics and pressed the button herself.

The Wendelstein 7-X stellarator was first fired up in December, when researchers used more easily heated helium to create a plasma. The goal is to reach the point in which the machine can keep plasma heated and stable for a full 30 minutes. Scientists hope to work out possible kinks that could happen to any future device that would actually generate power. The road may be long, yet Wolf says, “If we manage 2025, that’s good. Earlier is even better.”

Currently there are roughly a dozen different stellarators performing experiments around the world, yet the Wendelstein 7-X scientists proudly hold the claim as the first to achieve what “tokamak” reactors can. Stellarators are said to be more easy to operate and more reliable when it comes to keeping plasma stable for long periods of time. The race toward nuclear fusion is on and Germany, for now, has the lead.

ALL OF THIS IS RIDICULOUS...
Being Stellarators or Tokamaks, the same stupid things are still going on. Building high costs experimental machine that have proven past half century to not be able to sustain stable plasma/fusion operations due to MHD disruptions. The effects of neutron spallation on the blanket supposed to absorb that huge amount of radiation has never been solved, and the plasma pollution induced by this phenomenon systematically disrupt the plasma in less than 1 milli-second when you try to sustain fusion reactions. Don't even think to reach breakeven power... On top of that, those scientists, maybe as a result of a securely funded and a good career plan, are building this without having tested all possible alloys susceptible to resist a roughly 20 MeV neutron radiation, "let's build this thing, we know it will never give us commercial fusion, but hey, we are well payed and sure not to be fired, that thing will keep us busy the next two decades at least!". There are 0 practical solutions to avoid disruptions with this technology. Only hypothetical means based on non fully understood Tokamak/Stellarator MHD physics ran on computerised simulations. Only a possible control with high velocity helium injection or secondary magnetic fields that could, maybe, work to stabilise the plasma. Is there the actual possibility to detect, prevent and act in less than a fraction of a milli-second to apply those hypothetical solutions? Of course not! But hey, could say physicist Merkel, citizens do not know that, they are stupid and that thing is good for sub-contractors business and Germany prestige...
ALL OF THAT IS EVEN WORSE SPEAKING OF ITER !!!
ITER is a shameless money grab with a even nightmarishly too long design-build-test cycle which the development of that fucking bullshit to massive in size and cost to be remotely compatible with a widespread commercial use. And as a test facility, it is even worse than the Wendelstein 7-X. Every time this thing will be used to begin fusion operations far from breakeven, it will be seriously damaged, because the more Tokamaks are build bigger try to get a more "long ran" plasma, the discharge currents generated right after disruption are violent and will exercise powerful mechanical constraints on its internals, damaging the fusion chamber and capable of opening one or several breaches as well as fires potentially letting highly radioactive Tritium to be spread to the environment if not correctly contained, let alone the risk for all the staff working inside. This bullshit reactor will not be clean, that is a lie. If you want a clean fusion, you need, if I'm not mistaken, hydrogen - boron 11 fusion which is aneutronic and without the need of recycled Tritium for the ITER reaction, not to mention the lithium blanket... This thing is too big, too expensive (that the number one goal) non modular and without ANY commercial life span and maintaining cost considerations. And don't tell me that stupid excuse, "hey it is experimental, you remember?". And what? That means f it works (and it will not, just ask to the scientists working on the JET in England, same smaller Tokamak, same disruptions, same damages) we can build that thing as it is with the same costs constrains? Of course not, it experimental, and after that it is already planned to continue the theft of european taxpayers money with DEMO. A much bigger experimental reactor, around 50 billions euros if not more, even more ridiculous in size and wait just meant to be the first draft to a commercial reactor.
WTF ???
Seriously? How can a thing like that, needing maybe 15 years of construction (look at ITER), costing 50B$, with mandatory weeks of tele-operated maintenance due to high reactor radioactivity (just like ITER), needing a big a constraining and long environmental impact study could be a viable economical solution for the likes of General Electric, Total, Lockheed Martin and other big energy firms like who will need any fusion technology to be build fast, reliable, easily repairable, cost effective and supposed to solve earth future energy needs? Fucking stupid and don't tell about actual fission reactors which count for something like 15% of the total of electricity produced on earth. They are not modular, not for every one on earth due their costs and other strategic considerations and they are dangerous as hell for our biosphere, for us, no need to explain why. And that's funny, they cost one tenth of ITER actual projected price and take something like one third of time time to be constructed... And still, they only amount for a tinny fraction of the total of produced electricity on earth. Those brought us to major meltdowns. Yet, the very same politics who seam not to care about the past events and the danger of that technology are telling us that ITER will maybe bring clean energy for us all while still threatening our wealth-being by continuing to build "one-sixth-of-the-total-world-amount-of-electric-production" fission reactors that could kill us all in the not so unrealistic worst scenario? Miss Merkel, how can a physicist and intelligent women like you think we are so stupid?
SHAME on EU institutions to allow that colossal theft of money. They are only driven by lobbying greed. They are ready to kill us for that.